Gabe Newell: Windows 8 Is A "Catastrophe"

Valve's Gabe Newell has announced his displeasure with the upcoming Windows 8, because he believes it will lead to a more closed platform.

Speaking to Ed Fries at the Casual Connect conference in Seattle, Newell expressed his opinion when talking about having options when it comes to different platforms (including the company's expansion into Linux) and the openness of those platforms. Newell believes that Windows 8 in particular will make the PC more of a closed system. "I think that Windows 8 is kind of a catastrophe for everybody in the PC space," said Newell. "I think that we’re going to lose some of the top-tier PC [original equipment manufacturers]. They’ll exit the market. I think margins are going to be destroyed for a bunch of people."

Although Newell doesn't go into specifics of what he finds so offensive, Microsoft is putting more strict hardware requirements on machines that are licensed to run Windows 8, and the tablet version (Windows RT) exclusively runs software purchased through Microsoft's app store. These requirements could make it harder for companies like Dell who rely on lower-end hardware. Also, Newell's Steam store front will be locked out of Windows RT, similarly to how everything for Apple's iOS has to go through that company.

Windows 8 comes out on October 26.

For more of Newell's comments at the conference, head over to Venture Beat.